Tomato reviews likes & dislikes 2015 - 2020

[cheapskate chaz]

I `ve loved this thread, I`m lucky in that I help out at a small holding who`s owners wife is considered the tomatoe queen in these parts. She grows 50 different varieties each year, has been mentioned in Rick Steins good food books, and has been on telly a couple of times because of her toms, her name is Anne Mcgrath, she has held her "usual" tasting day, in which she supplies paper and pen so that tasters can give their verdict, I will ask her which came top and why and then post it on here.

My own toms this year were...money maker, not exciting enough in either taste or vigour and Tigerella, these had more "meat" on them compared with MM and were more sweeter. the only other toms I grew were sunsugar, these I grew indoors on a bedroom window sill. the pot size reduced their vigour, but still were very sweet.

[Penellype]

The final variety that I grew this year - Belle.
Belle is a beefsteak variety and I grew 1 plant in my growhouse which is sunny in the summer, but soon becomes quite shady later in the year. The growhouse is only 3ft high, so during summer the top of the plant grew up through the top, and when the weather got colder I carefully bent the plant over and trained it along a shelf. I have grown this variety in my friend's greenhouse as well, and will rate the 2 separately as they are hugely different.

In the growhouse:
Health and vigour 2/10 (plant grew ok, fruit wouldn't ripen and when picked and brought indoors they shrivelled up or rotted. Also got botrytis)
Taste 0/10 (from the very, very small sample of vaguely edible fruit)
Will I grow again - no chance

In greenhouse:
Health and vigour 7/10
Taste 6/10
Will I grow again - yes. Nice big tomatoes which my friend particularly likes.



The tomato on the left was brought in from my friend's greenhouse when partly ripe and ripened indoors. The 3 on the right were brought in from the growhouse in a similar condition.

[AshitabaDave]

I very much like the scoring system! and the "Will I grow next year", very helpful, thankyou,

Regards, Dave

[BarleySugar]

Indigo rose. I succumbed to temptation and bought a grafted plant. It didn't arrive until late June, but did have a few flower buds coming.
Glossy black fruit followed and I rooted more plants from side shoots as they developed. I didn't get the first ripe fruit until mid September. The looked spectacular but were tasteless and dry. My other varieties succumbed to blight earlier but gave better tasting fruit. I saved some seed but I'm not going to be bothering with them again.
Taste 4/10
Plant health 8/10

[4390evans]

I grew Money maker this year and they were quite nice fried, but I grew another one something with beef in its name and they were awful! Defo wont be growing them again!

[jackarmy]

Just reading this again, thought it deserved a bump

well well,an hour or so later and ive finished, enjoyed that

btw, anyone reckon post 111 may work at real seeds ?

[Paulieb]

Kibits
Growth - Short, lots of branches, grown in the ground under big cloche- small pointy plum
Taste - good cooked
Will I grow next year - yes, always do, a very good cropper for its size.!

Did I send you these seeds? I got some from the US years ago and grew them for a couple for years but then forgot about them for a while.

Think I'll make some space for a few plants this year!!

Have you grown any outside??

[Alison]

btw, anyone reckon post 111 may work at real seeds ?

Dunno, they have only ever posted once but I do agree with them about Real Seeds. I've not had a dud crop off stuff I've grown from their seed and I certainly don't work for them.

[Thelma Sanders]

Yes, got them in the 2012 tomato seed swap

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...2012-a-40.html

I've grown them every year since. I have grown them in the soil outside, even in s/m flower buckets on the patio. They didn't grow as tall, or fruit as well in pots.

[Small pumpkin]

I love this thread. I'm growing 7 new varieties of tomato this year. Most of them thanks to scarlet and the VSP . So I'm looking forward to doing my likes and dislikes.

[Angeldon]

I've read this thread through and through and am now totally confused as to what to try this year. Last year was a disaster - I grew Super Marmande (previous year was reasonably good) and Ferline, but I barely had even a green tom between them and I'm not sure whether it was me or just a bad year! I don't have a greenhouse and will be growing basket/patio toms but would like to go for something reliable for growing on the veggie plot outside - any suggestions for a good reliable outdoor tom to try would be most welcome.

[Ryleh]

Sungold do very well outside in my experience

[maverick451]

I've read this thread through and through and am now totally confused as to what to try this year. Last year was a disaster - I grew Super Marmande (previous year was reasonably good) and Ferline, but I barely had even a green tom between them and I'm not sure whether it was me or just a bad year! I don't have a greenhouse and will be growing basket/patio toms but would like to go for something reliable for growing on the veggie plot outside - any suggestions for a good reliable outdoor tom to try would be most welcome.

Sungold are about the earliest, maybe top the tomato plants after 3 trusses to help ripening?

[jackarmy]

You out Pembrokeshire way Ange?
pretty good climate for toms i would have thought, a degree or two advantage depending where you are .
try one of the russian/ukranian ones ?
I do love the mamande though and they grew really well in Swansea for me last year.

[Scarlet]

I've read this thread through and through and am now totally confused .

Last year was a poor year for growing tomatoes, Spring was late and we didn't have much of a Summer either. For outdoor growing I'd try a smaller salad tomato and as Maverick has suggested top them after a few trusses have set. Have you tried black cherry. Sungold, gardeners delight...or maybe a couple of bush tomatoes? Try a few varieties rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.